Listen to Marty Friedman’s Official Theme Song for Japan Heritage

Marty Friedman has spent the past 15 years living full-time in Japan, and his appreciation for the country apparently goes both ways. The Agency for Cultural Affairs Japan Heritage needed an official theme song, and they commissioned the former Megadeth guitarist to create it. The instrumental track, which can be listened to above, will not be released for sale.

"It was a thrill and an honor to be asked by the Japanese government to compose this music," Friedman says in a statement. "It will be played and performed at official events and functions from now on. As a foreigner living in Tokyo, I`ll always appreciate the gracious treatment I`ve received here and welcome this kind of responsibility in the future."

Just last year, Friedman was named as one of the seven official Japan Heritage ambassadors by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. According to the organization's official website, Japan Heritage aims to promote unique cultural traditions, encourage the use of Japan's national cultural properties and revitalize regional economies. The objectives are three-fold; first to recognize the narratives that bind Japan’s regional cultural properties, then to maintain and use those properties in a cohesive manner and finally to strategically and effectively promote the narratives pertaining to cultural properties within Japan and abroad.

"Japan’s tangible and intangible cultural properties have been preserved through narratives based on unique regional histories and traditions. By recognizing these stories as Japan Heritage, the Agency plans to promote these historical legacies and to provide comprehensive support so that this heritage may be effectively preserved and maintained."

Written and produced by Friedman, the "Japan Heritage Official Theme Song" also features the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, with strings arranged by Akira Sasaki, bass by Kiyoshi, piano by Yukiko Takada, tsuzumi drum by Shonosuke Okura and drums by Mitsuru Kurauchi.

Friedman's latest solo album, Wall of Sound, is available now through Prosthetic Records and can be purchased at this location in a variety of formats. This past December, Loudwire premiered the video for the track "Miracle" from the album.

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